Ravindra Jadeja will return to the Indian team in the longest format on Saturday when Shubman Gill’s team plays Sri Lanka in the opening match in Galle after missing the one-off Afghanistan Test due to an injury. Jadeja has been one of India’s mainstays both with the bat and ball for over a decade, and the experienced all-rounder is on the verge of a significant milestone in Sri Lanka.
With just two more wickets needed to reach 350 in the format, the left-arm spinning all-rounder would join a very select group of cricket players in the game’s history. In 89 Test matches, Jadeja has taken 348 wickets at an average of 25.12. In addition to his highest match performance of 10/154, he has returned 15 five-wicket innings. He has amassed 4,095 Test runs with the bat, solidifying his reputation as one of India’s most complete all-round players of all time.
After the great Kapil Dev, who ended his career with 5,248 Test runs and 434 wickets in 131 matches, Jadeja will be the second Indian cricketer to record a combination of 350 Test wickets and 4000+ runs if he takes two wickets in Galle.
Jadeja would become the first spin all-rounder to accomplish this, whereas Kapil was a seaming all-rounder. After reaching 4000 Test runs and 300 wickets in a home series against South Africa in November of last year, Jadeja joined an exclusive group. That series was lost by India. Daniel Vettori of New Zealand and Ian Botham of England play for Kapil.
Jadeja has every reason to be confident going into Galle based on his Test performance against Sri Lanka. He has amassed 326 runs at an average of 65.20 throughout seven Test matches and nine innings against them, including a century, a fifty, and a top score of 175 not out. With 33 wickets at 23.72, two five-wicket hauls, and best figures of 5/41, his bowling statistics against the same opponents are as impressive.
